When Worlds Collide
by LostPipersChild
Summary: There are many worlds beside ours and when Voldamort discovers this it could mean ruin for everyone. But what does it have to do with a normal girl called Cathy? She has a dark secret to hide but the Dark Lord is after her.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Aurora Borealis

The moon was eclipsing on a bitterly cold night in the middle of February. A small crowd was gathered outside a hotel and every face was turned towards the sky. Lights danced far above, rippling like a wave in the ocean. One family consisted of a mother, a father, a son, and a daughter...

"They're so cool!" I remarked as the colours filled the sky. Mum smiled and nodded in appreciation but my father pulled his coat closer to him.

"They'd look just as cool from the hotel window." he complained through chattering teeth. Mum and I broke off our observation just long enough to throw him scathing looks.

"Dewi, how often do you see the Northern Lights this far south?" Mum demanded.

Hardly ever that was the answer. We didn't live far enough north so I had never seen the amazing spectacle before. That was the whole point of this trip to Scotland, well, for us girls anyway. The boys were more exited about the chance to see the Rugby than anything else. We watched the sky a little longer but then the cold began to penetrate our thick coats. The crowd trickled back to the warmth of the hotel and dad's complaints became more persistent. Eventually mum said,

"Ok, let's go back in."

My brother David and I groaned but dad had already turned on his heel and marched back inside.

"Can I stay a bit longer?" I asked and mum looked around anxiously.

"Alright Cathy, but just a few minutes alright?"

"Ok."

"Can I stay too?" David cried eagerly but mum shook her head.

"No way, it's well past your bedtime young man."

Mum dragged my unwilling little brother back to our room and I turned back to the show. Once I was alone I smiled. It was beautiful and I could easily see how people in the past thought they were a message from the Gods, gateways to other worlds, magic.

A man stood on the crest of a hill, looking down at a castle. Many of the windows were in darkness and because the moon was a new one that night, it shed little light. The whole scene might have been back if it weren't for the shimmering Northern Lights. Muggles thought they were caused by something called solar winds and disturbances in the Earths atmosphere. The man smirked as this thought crossed his mind. Stupid, ignorant creatures.

How could they write off something as obviously magical as a mere product of nature? Fools, Lord Voldamort knew better. The lights were a gateway to other worlds, what kind of world he didn't know but he was determined to make a crossing. And tonight was a perfect night to attempt it. With a new moon, magic was at its most powerful and because Hogwarts was centre of high magical concentration the fabric between worlds was brittle here. The Dark Lord raised his wand, it was time.

I checked my watch and jumped. Midnight, oops, mum was not going to be happy. I turned and hurried back towards the hotel, but then I stopped. It wasn't that I'd heart something exactly, more...felt it. I turned slowly back to look around. There was a lake about half a mile away down the slope and a forest between it and the hotel. I couldn't see anything but I swallowed nervously, my mouth suddenly dry.

I knew they had tried to introduce wolves back into Scotland but I also knew they hardly ever attacked people. I tried to keep this in mind as I back slowly towards the safety of the lobby, ready to make a break for the door. Then I felt a tingling sensation in the tips of my fingers and I looked up. I gasped and my eyes grew wide. The lights were twirling and weaving more than ever and they began to come down!

I should probably have been afraid but I wasn't, I was too awed. I'd never heard of the Northern Lights doing this before. Or Aurealis Boralis to give them their proper name. Hold on that wasn't right was it? Was it Aurealis Boralis or something else?

"Yeah cause that's the thing to be thinking about!" I muttered, exasperated with myself. As I spoke I heard something, another voice. I couldn't understand what was being said, it sounded Latin or Greek. But I could make out that it was a make voice, just about. It was high and cold and I frightened me far more than what the lights were doing. By now I was surrounded by them, like I was caught in a tornado of light. I couldn't jump out because they spun so fast it made me dizzy. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.

I was standing exactly where I had been, at the top of the hill looking down at the lake. Except that now there was a huge, impressive castle down below which I could have sworn was not there before. I breathed hard and turned around to get back inside before anything else happened. But then I froze, the hotel was gone. Poof! Vanished into thin air. Where it had stood there was nothing but endless dark trees. There was no sign of the road which led to it either; I was in the middle of a forest by myself. Well, not _totally_ by myself. There was someone standing with their back to me. They were wearing a black cloak with the hood drawn up so I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. They were tall whoever they were.

"Hey," I called nervously. The person twitched their head to one side.

"Where am I? Do you know where the hotel is?"

The stranger turned and I screamed. I couldn't help it! The man's skin was deathly white, his nose was snake like and his eyes shone red through the gloom. He looked angry and he pointed something at me. I flinched but it wasn't a gun or a knife, it was some kind of stick. I was just feeling relieved when green light shot out of the tip and flew towards me. I dodged and then did the only thing sensible, I legged it.

I heard the man shout something and more green light soared over my head. I'd never been more terrified in my life and I sprinted through the trees, jumping over roots and ducking under branches. And then I heard a sound that chilled me to the bone, a wolf howling. I could hear the creature panting behind me, growling as it drew closer and closer. I considered climbing a tree but that was out of the question. The animal was too close and I was no good at climbing anyway.

Because I'd been running pel mel down the hill I hadn't realised I was careering straight towards some kind of weird heat haze. When I did notice it I couldn't stop because the wolf was right behind me, snapping at my heels with its toothy maw. As I passed through the haze it rippled and let out a sound like a bubble coming up from under water. Then I tripped on a root and went sprawling. The wolf would be on me any second, I was doomed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The Headmaster's Office

I screwed my eyes shut and waited for the pain of the wolf's teeth ripping through my flesh. But instead, I heard a sound like thunder, and the animal whining in pain. I opened my eyes tentatively and looked up. The wolf was stalking up and down on the other side of the heat haze. As I watching, it launched itself at me but then bounced right back off as if the haze had suddenly become solid. It growled at me and I stared at it in wonder. It's eyes were blood red, like the strange man's had been. Was it possible that they were... No, that was crazy! Men didn't turn into wolves! But then again, hotels didn't vanish, green light didn't shoot out of sticks and wolves didn't bounce off invisible barriers either. This was the craziest most bizarre thing that had ever happened to me. I needed help.

I remembered the castle I'd seen so I set off in the direction I thought it was in. Every now and then I glanced back at the wolf who sat watching me. Once it was out of sight I started to run again. A surprisingly short time later I emerged out of the forest. There was a stone walkway crossing a cliff and I ran over it, trying not to look down. Once across I went through an archway into a courtyard. There was a fountain in the middle and a door on the far side. I hurried across to this and hammered on it desperately. I didn't stop until I heard footsteps on the other side. It was opened by a cherry red nose and a grumpy scowl. He was wearing a long nightshirt and slippers and carried a lantern.

"What are you doing out there?" he snapped. "Get in here!"

"Thank you!" I gasped and rushed into the warmth. I was now in an entrance hall with a set of marble steps leading off to a grand staircase on the right. The man closed the door behind me and scowled.

"You are gonna get such a kicking in the morning!" he growled. "You know students aren't supposed to be out of bed!"

"I'm-not-a student!" I panted, clutching a stitch in my side. "There was a man-and a wolf-lights, ach!"

I didn't have the breath to continue so I leant over and rested my hands on my knees. There was a meowing and a cat wound it's self between my legs. The man was shaking his head.

"Don't give me that sleepwalking drivel! I'm gonna make you wish you were never born by the time I'm done with you! Do you have any idea what time it – "

"Mr Filch!" said a stern, Scottish voice. I looked up and saw a woman standing at the top of the stairs. She wore a tartan dressing gown and had a stern expression on her face.

"What do you mean by shouting at half past twelve at night and waking up half the castle?" the woman demanded. Filch grabbed my arm and dragged me forward.

"Professor McGonagall ma'am!" he wheezed. "I just caught this student sneaking around outside."

This annoyed me rather a lot because he never would have 'caught' me if I hadn't knocked in the first place!

"I wasn't sneaking!" I said indignantly. "And I told you I'm not a student, I was – "

I stopped midsentence as something my captor had said clicked. Filch? McGonagall? I knew those names, but that was impossible! It had to be a coincidence! This couldn't be..._Hogwarts_?

"Why were you outside young lady?" McGonagall asked frostily. "And why are you dressed like a muggle?"

Muggle! She said muggle! No way, no bloody way! This had to be a dream! It had to be! There was no other explanation.

"Well?" McGonagall prompted, folding her arms and tapping her foot.

"I-I was trying to get away from a man."

"A man? What man?" the teacher asked sharply.

"I don't know who he –" I stopped again and thought about it. White skin, snake-like features, red eyes? There was only one person that could be.

"I think it was Voldamort." I said. Filch snatched his hand away so quickly it was as I had burnt him. McGonagall's face drained of colour and she swayed on her feet.

"Don't joke about such things." she whispered.

"I'm not joking! It was him, I swear! He tried to kill me."

The old witch stared at me and then at Filch. Then she snapped out of it.

"Filch, go back to bed and not a word of this to anyone, do you hear me?" Not a word!"

Filch opened and closed his mouth in astonishment but under McGonagall's stern glare he didn't argue. He wandered off towards a room in the corner of the hall, muttering under his breath to Mrs Norris as he went. Once he'd slammed the door shut behind him, McGonagall beckoned to me.

"Come along dear, I'll take you to see Professor Dumbledore."

I shuffled after her, still quivering from the shock of it all. Hogwarts. _Hogwarts_? How could this be possible. We walked up the Grand Staircase in silence, but I was too busy staring around with mouth hanging open to talk anyway. The portraits were all snoring softly, except for one of a group of monks hiccupping their way through half a dozen bottles of wine, and another of a white haired man writing feverishly on a blackboard. As we passed he turned to me and asked,

"3 to the power of 10 squared and divided ¾ of a fifth is the correct equation isn't it?"

"Um, I don't know." I croaked in a dazed way. We were almost at the very top of the stairs when McGonagall opened a door which led to a corridor on the left. It was lit by torches and at the end was a statue of a gargoyle. We paused before it and Professor McGonagall said,

"Pepper Imps."

The statue jumped aside to reveal a winding set of stairs which we mounted. At the top was a door and McGonagall knocked.

"Enter." came a voice on the other side. She opened the door and I got my first look at the office. It was exactly how it was described in the book, round, full of quirky little instruments which puffed and whirred in the background for no apparent reason. Dumbledore sat behind his desk looking tired but when we came in he smiled.

"Minerva, what brings you here at this late hour? And who might this be?"

"I'm not sure but I don't think she is a student. She claims the Dark Lord tried to kill her."

At the mention of Voldamort, Dumbledore sat up a little straighter.

"Really?"

I nodded and he frowned a little.

"What is your name my dear?"

"Cathy, um, Catherine Williams."

"Why don't you sit down and tell me what happened."

I sank into the chair and blurted out the whole story. Once I'd concluded with banging on the front door, McGonagall and Dumbledore looked at each other seriously.

"She's not lying." said the old man. "What could Voldamort possibly be doing here?"

"And what was that business with the lights?" McGonagall asked. They looked at me but I stayed quiet. Dumbledore was eyeing me curiously.

"You say that your hotel disappeared once the lights dispersed." he said and I nodded. He was frowning in a confused way now.

"There are no muggle buildings around here for miles."

"Not in this world." I said. "But in mine there is. I guess that's why it vanished when I crossed over."

Now the two adults were regarding me as if I had lost my mind.

"You world?" Dumbledore prompted and I blushed.

"Oh, I probably shouldn't have said that. Um, well, think is kind of, tricky. I'm from another worlds and this world is a book."

If they'd thought I was crazy before, now their faces were a picture. Clearly they didn't believe me for a second.

"I can prove it!" I added. "I've read all seven books, I know the story really well."

"So these, books, they are about the wizarding world?" Dumbledore asked sceptically.

"Um, sort of." I said awkwardly. "I can't really tell you who the main character is or it'll give away the whole plot. But I'm not mad! And I'm not lying."

"Oh I know you're not lying, I am a Legilimens." Dumbledore assured me. "But are you absolutely sure of this? You have had a shock, and maybe you are confused..."


End file.
